Lost Wax Casting Session 1 June 7th & 8th, 2014

Lost Wax Casting

Why learn how to lost wax cast? This technique is amazing for making your own, custom parts for a jewelry line or to set your work apart.   And have someone else do all the casting and polishing! So you get finished pieces that are ready to use.
In this fast moving and intensive 2-day workshop, students will get hands on experience carving a wax model. You will learn how to use an electric wax pen,  carve, file, saw and polish wax models. How to invest and cast your work. How to polish your finished castings will also be covered.We will then cast your model in Sterling Silver, and then make a production mold which can be used to create a second generation of cast models.   This is a great opportunity to learn all you need to know to make jewelry using the lost wax casting process, from start to finish.

In day 1, students will learn how to design and carve a production-quality wax model, properly detailed and hollowed for optimal limited edition reproduction. All specific hand tools for wax carving are provided. Attention is given to balance, proportion, finish and consistent wall thickness. Once this wax model is completed, it is invested in a casting flask, and prepared for casting at the beginning of the second day.

In day 2, after all flasks have been burned out in a kiln, all the wax models are individually centrifugally cast with the instructors help, in your choice of Sterling Silver or White Bronze. The newly cast models are cleaned, finished, and polished in preparation for molding. The sterling models are then sprued, and molds are made by each participant using a no-shrink rubber. These molds are then vulcanized, and when finished, are professionally cut by the instructor to create a professional mold for limited edition reproduction casting of the original.

This workshop, is so packed with technical information and learning which tools to use and how to carve wax is an important skill which enables one to create more 3 dimensional jewelry forms, which can be replicated accurately and easily in any quantity.

Students will leave the workshop with a sterling original as well as a rubber mold for re-creating that original sterling model. The sterling, carving wax, and rubber for molds, are available for purchase in the studio. All hand tools, casting, and mold making equipment are available in the studio for use by the participants.

WORKSHOP FEE: $249